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Alouettes seek answers after offence implodes vs. Ticats

Author of the article:

Herb Zurkowsky • Montreal Gazette

Publishing date:

July 18, 2016 • 4 minute read

Alouettes receiver Nik Lewis dives for extra yards after making a catch against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during Canadian Football League game in Montreal Friday July 15, 2016.John Mahoney/ Montreal Gazette

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The players have to perform, but they must be put into a position by their coaches to succeed, Anthony Calvillo said. As he flourished for years under the direction of Don Matthews and Marc Trestman, it’s Calvillo who is on the hot seat over the Alouettes’ offensive struggles.

“This is part of the game, this adversity hitting us. The players are looking at us … how we’re going to respond to this. We have to make sure we’re going to respond accordingly,” Calvillo said Monday as the Als’ worked out at Stade Hébert. “That’s our challenge, and it has to funnel (down) from the coaches to them.

Alouettes seek answers after offence implodes vs. TicatsBack to video

“When the ball was in my hands, I had a lot more control. Things are still my responsibility,” added Calvillo, who is in his first full season as the Als’ offensive coordinator and only his second year of coaching. “I have to make sure we get these guys ready, challenge them in a way that’s going to be productive and not destructive for our team. That’s what we’re trying to do. We have a great offensive staff. We’re putting our heads together to get this thing rolling again.”

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The Als are 1-2 after Friday’s 31-7 loss at home to Hamilton. Statistically, there was little difference between the teams, but the Tiger-Cats scored one offensive touchdown and another on special teams. Montreal failed to reach the end zone and didn’t get inside the visitors’ 30-yard line.

While the Als were missing quarterback Kevin Glenn, slotback S.J. Green and tailback Tyrell Sutton, they never came close to scoring a touchdown and have been held to a CFL-low three TDs. With 42 points, the Als are averaging a league-low 14 points per game. Those kinds of numbers won’t win games at any level.

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Slotback Nik Lewis and wide-receiver Duron Carter lashed out after the game. Both seemed to be criticizing the coaching staff for a vanilla game plan and inability to stretch the field. Carter was held to three receptions and had only four passes thrown his way. He said his girlfriend, who he added knows nothing about football, finds the Als’ offence “bland.”

While Carter on Monday denied he was throwing any staff member under the bus, Calvillo said he talked to the receiver, who has been outspoken at times. General manager and head coach Jim Popp said any issues between management and the player, already in hot water once this season over his ejection against Ottawa, would be handled internally.

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“I’ve been there many times before and I’ve made my share of comments about frustrations and, after, you regret it,” Calvillo said. “Duron knows the situation. We had a good discussion and we’re moving on.

“We’re making some mistakes. It comes back to us as coaches to re-evaluate where we’re at. We know, across the board, there’s frustration from players. Even us as coaches. We’re evaluating … and we’ll adjust.”

The Als have passed for only two touchdowns. Their passing average is a league-low 7.1 yards per play, while the team is averaging a CFL-low 5.5 yards overall per play. Montreal’s averaging 282.7 passing yards, ahead of only Toronto. And the Als’ offensively are averaging 336.7 yards, in front of just the Ticats and Argonauts.

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As bad as the Als’ offence was a year ago, when the team slumped to 6-12, missed the playoffs and fired coordinator Turk Schonert in early September, they appear no better in 2016.

“I think we’re doing a lot of things that are good. It looked good the first game (against Winnipeg). We just didn’t get in the end zone. The last two games, we’ve been very handicapped. You can respect that or not, but that’s where we are,” Popp said.

“The first half (against Hamilton) wasn’t so bad. We didn’t score touchdowns, but we moved the ball decently. The second half, we didn’t do much. There were lots of two and outs. The defence was on the field a lot. We started going for it and had turnovers. Pushing the ball downfield became difficult. We couldn’t establish the run to take some of that pressure off.

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“There have been periods through the three games we’ve run the ball decent. Other times, due to circumstances, we haven’t,” Popp added. “There were times we’ve gotten rid of the ball quicker, moved the ball up and down the field … pretty efficiently. Scoring touchdowns we haven’t done as well.

“We have to be better than that if we are to win.”

The Als have more than a week to prepare for next Monday’s game at Toronto, but the Argos also will be coming off a long layoff, having lost to Ottawa last Wednesday. The Argos, playing their first season at BMO Field, are one of five teams yet to win at home through two games. Home teams are 3-12-1 through four weeks of the schedule.

Glenn, suffering from inflammation in his left eye, at least practised on Monday, although he split reps with Rakeem Cato and was reluctant to state he’ll definitely play next week. Middle-linebacker Bear Woods, sporting a brace on his right knee, was held out of the workout. Popp said the injury is not considered serious and Woods should face Toronto.

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